This morning was calm, dry and bright. A great start to the day as I watched flock after flock of Canada and greylag geese head back into Home Fen after their night of foraging.

There is, of course, plenty going on at night, as we found recently on a bat survey. It was a night filled with plenty of common pipistrelles, several noctule flypasts, and the occasional Daubenton's bat; a very rewarding survey.

However, an early morning bird transect is also one of the best ways to take in the beauty of the Fen, greeted by other early risers or those returning home to roost.

The calls of blue tits, chiffchaffs and willows warblers were the first to be heard from the birch woodland of Home Fen, while over Rymes Reedbed hobbies cried out, hunting and feeding their young, accompanied by a well as a rather cautious call from a Cetti's warbler in the reeds by Trundle Mere Lookout. 

It soon became apparent that Rymes was being used by a particular group of birds this morning, building up their fat reserves, ready for their journey south. Swallows flew low, tail streamers skimming the reed tops, chasing flying insects. There were not that many insects on the wing today, August was yet another dry month this year, and though we are doing our best to bring the water levels back up we are still wating for the really wet weather to recharge the system. House martins were a very welcome sight this morning, probably one of my highlights of the survey, with a few hundred over Rymes today. Feeding over many of the fields, reeds and the adjacent lodes, it was great to catch them at this point in their travels. Joining them was the flash of electric blue and the high pitched call of a kingfisher, one of several birds we have recorded at Rymes this year.

Whinchats were also passing though. They don't stay with us, so now is the time to look out for them and make the most of the experience. Check out the field headlands, the edges by the ditch-sides that we leave uncut. Watch for this bird perched atop a plant stem, its distinctive eye strip distinguishing it from the stonechat which, in contrast, may well stay with us for the winter. There are those stonechats that are with us for the summer, to breed, but they have gone now. New birds are appearing, often in pairs, are we started to ring these 'autumn birds' again today, as part of our colour-ring project.

In recent weeks, wheatears have been running along the tracks of the Fen, and yellow wagtails have been dancing around the feet of the cattle, seeking insects of course. As with the whinchats, now is the time to look for them before they move on. It is that time of the year when more and more livestock are out on the Fen, so train you binoculars on the ground around the cattle's feet, and check out what else might be with them.

Something less expected, but very welcome, was the sighting of a young bittern not long ago. Reserves Officer, Jasmin Atkinson, spotted it flying low over fields south of Holme Fen. This would have been the restoration land, and so an encouraging sign that such birds are making the most of the our conservation work. More of this works has been taking place at New Decoy Farm, and we will be eager to see results over the winter and next spring.

In the meantime, water vole surveys, water beetles surveys, and moth surveys will also taking place this week, the latter bringing the possibility of more encounters with the great silver water beetle. There are plenty more bird surveys to come as well, so if you like hiking over the open fields, eyes and ears alert for the sightings and the calls of birds and other wildlife, think about contacting me to join the team watching over the Great Fen.

Henry Stanier (Great Fen Monitoring & Research Officer)